Not sure his decision to transfer is entirely due to basketball
https://dullesdistrict.com/index.php...ecomes-clearer
It seems that he has a breathalyzer device installed on his vehicle as part of his probation. Reading between the lines of some upcoming court dates in August, he may have tested positive for alcohol when getting into his car. Which, would have his probation revoked and, in turn, would probably cause the school to drop him from the team.
It's all reading between the lines and a few comments from a lawyer but doesn't look good for him.
"That young man has an extra step on his ladder the rest of us just don't have."
Seems to be some tea leaves that Minnesota's Marcus Carr (19.4ppg, 4.0rpg, 4.9apg) is leaning toward going to Louisville (especially now that Kansas has Agbaji back). He would instantly be the best transfer in the ACC, I suspect.
Meanwhile, Illinois All-Big Ten C Kofi Cockburn is reportedly leaning toward heading to Kentucky. What Cal has done in the transfer portal this year has been nothing short of amazing. Everyone had Kentucky outside the top ten when last season ended... if they land Cockburn, they could be alongside Gonzaga as the preseason favorite.
Why are you wasting time here when you could be wasting it by listening to the latest episode of the DBR Podcast?
I was listening to "Full Ride" on Sirius XM this morning (my favorite sports talk show) and Rick Neuheisel said that two of the Illini assistant coaches, both great recruiters, had gone to Kentucky. If Rick is correct, it may explain Cockburn's move to Kentucky, presumably to be with the coach who recruited him.
Maybe, in the Transfer Portal Era, this is the new move. Instead of hiring a star high school player's dad as an assistant coach, you hire assistants away from other schools when you know they initially reeled in a returning star to that other school, as you now know there's a good chance (or a sure thing) that the player will follow that recruiter/assistant and come play for you . . .
2021 off-season transfer Theo John, who transferred from Marquette to Duke, set a Duke Basketball program record today on the 185 lb bench press test. He bench pressed 185 lbs 26 times, breaking Shelden Williams’ record of 25 reps.
Marquette transfer Dawson Garcia told @Stadium he is headed to Chapel Hill and will play for UNC this season.
HUGE pickup for Hubert Davis and the Tar Heels.
Courtesy of Jeff Goodman’s official Twitter account @GoodmanHoops
Their bench just got a lot deeper.
Duke needs one more guard. Probably won’t happen but there will be injuries over the course of 5 months.
And this team has arguably more guys capable of playing guard than the 2010 team. Moore as a junior is likely a much better ballhandler and defender than Andre Dawkins as a very green freshman. So we have four recruited guys who will play guard.
Basically, we have a “two-deep” at every spot, not to mention positional versatility from several guys:
PG: Roach, Blakes
SG: Moore, Keels
SF: Griffin, Baker
PF: Banchero, Jones
C: Williams, John
Now a discussion can be had about the quality of our options at various spots, but the number of guys we have at each spot going into a season is sufficient.
The major issue is the ability to stop penetration, or lack thereof. Roach was awful at this last year, Moore is better equipped guarding 3/4 than 2/3, Keels is a big dude without a defensive reputation, and Blakes is a low ranked guard (who, in his defense, is likely a lot better at defense than offense).
And while having Williams, John, and Banchero is a nice insurance policy, it's gonna be a long year if that's what we have to rely on.
I would love one more guard who is a) more tenured and b) a great defensive player. Given our depth, it will likely be difficult - if not impossible - to find said player.
Criticism may not be agreeable, but it is necessary. It fulfils the same function as pain in the human body. It calls attention to an unhealthy state of things. - Winston Churchill
President of the "Nolan Smith Should Have His Jersey in The Rafters" Club
Just don’t see Blakes and Jones as ACC caliber players. Hope I am proven wrong. This being K’s last year I would like to see a full roster and a lot of bench PT until Feb/March.
Jones is definitely an ACC caliber player. He's a fringe top-100 recruit, and while those guys don't always star in the ACC, they certainly play. Jones is a practice player. But PF is the one spot where we have a TON of depth.
As to the comment about dribble penetration, I think that was more a function of getting isos on guys like Hurt rather than them blowing by Roach and Moore. I'm not as concerned as some about our ability to defend, as I think replacing Steward, Goldwire, and Hurt with Keels, Griffin, and Banchero will be a substantial net upgrade in our ability to defend on the perimeter. And that is aside from the potential gains of a year of experience for our returnees and an actual offseason for our returning sophomores in particular.
I also think that our length provides us some additional options that weren't there last year. In the event that the defense does struggle, we have a roster tailor-made for a 2-3 zone. Tons of length, especially along the back line. By hook or by crook, I think we'll be just fine on defense next year.
I'll believe it when I see it. Roach and Steward were absolutely terrible at it last year. I understand Steward is gone (a plus on defense next year), but Roach will play plenty of minutes, And Moore has never been that great at guarding quick players (and wasn't it you last year who said that Moore is better at guarding bigger wings than fast guards which is why, when we played Moore-Johnson-Hurt, Moore wasn't as effective on the defensive end?)
Criticism may not be agreeable, but it is necessary. It fulfils the same function as pain in the human body. It calls attention to an unhealthy state of things. - Winston Churchill
President of the "Nolan Smith Should Have His Jersey in The Rafters" Club